Life Is Like A Boat
by SingBenihime
Summary: Ukitake Jushiro's life has been one of happiness, sadness, anger and much more. Follow his story from when he was a little boy to when he is a Captain of the Gotei 13.
1. Chapter 1

A small, black-haired boy wandered across Rukongai, his chocolate eyes taking in every tiny aspect of this new place. He wore a white t-shirt and baggy, brown trousers with a russet-coloured belt on the tightest hole. His trousers look like they would have fitted nicely if not for his slight, slender frame. Hanging off his belt was a wooden sword, obviously hand-made (and not by a professional hand). His smile spread across his face and his eyes glowed with youthful excitement, as he started running. He stopped at the first alleyway he came to and peered in curiously. A second later, he jumped backwards, eyes wide, at the sight that had befell him: a young, skeletal girl was crawling towards him, repeating hopefully "Have you got food? Have you?"

The boy shook his head, frightened, and made to turn away, but the girl grabbed the bottoms of his trousers, looked up at him and continued bleating "Have you got food? Have you?"

"No, I can't give you food. My mummy said not to give or take things from strangers" the boy replied timidly, although his heart was slowly melting for the small, even smaller than him, child below him, desperately gripping his slacks.

"Please can I have the food?" said the girl. She reached into her ragged pocket and produced a bronze 2p coin, before offering it to the boy. "You can have this. It's all the money I have"

Finally, his heart cracked, and he found himself reaching over and gently closing the girls hand with his own. He smiled reassuringly, as the other child blinked up at him, and said warmly "I'm Jushiro Ukitake. Now you know my name, we're not strangers! Right?"

The girl looked stunned for a moment, but a small smile crept up on her lips. She nodded. "Right. Hello, Ukitake-kun. Please can I have the food?"

Jushiro laughed at her persistence and dug deep into his trouser pocket. He pulled a bag of sweets out and, with a huge grin, presented it to the girl, who took it eagerly and ripped the packet open with her teeth.

"I was saving this for my brothers and sisters and I to share, but you can have it" said Jushiro kindly, although he was just repeating what had become a reality already, as the girl shovelled the candies into her mouth. He gave her one last smile, before darting away again, eager to explore more.


	2. Chapter 2

A little cough.

Another cough.

A louder cough.

"Jushiro, honey, are you alright?" asked his mother, as she placed the last clean plate on the rack. She reached for a towel and begun to dry her hands, while looking at her son worriedly, for his coughs were getting harsher and more insistent. The little boy lowered his outbursts to a series of harsh grunts. He then took a deep breath, grinned and said cheerfully "Yes, I'm fine, thank you"

His mother smiled; Jushiro was sometimes too polite and kind for a mere 8 year old. But, noticing his coughs were increasing again, she knelt down in front of him and murmured softly, so his brothers and sisters wouldn't hear, "I can get your medicine if you want it, Jyuu"

The boy shook his head, making his shoulder-length black hair wave gently from side to side. "No, I'm fine"

"Hmm…if you say so" replied his mother, in a tone that was meant to be understanding, although her concerned expression never wavered. She ran her soft, slender fingers down her son's hair lovingly. "You know, Jyuu, you really need a haircut"

"Do you need one?"

"I think I do actually" she replied, running a hand through her own raven locks.

Jushiro beamed. "I do too!"

His mother chuckled and Jushiro laughed loudly, for he admired and adored his mum, and thought that whatever she did was the right thing to do, in any given situation (although he would obviously be better at everything she did). But his pale face suddenly contorted, and he started coughing again. Tears sprung into his eyes from the pain that was searing in his small chest, however much he tried to be a big boy and hide them. However, he needn't have worried, for his mother's eyes started watering at the sight of her 8-year old son slowly, but surely, dying. She knew no-one could do anything for him, yet she yearned for a cure for his disease with all her heart.

"It's alright, Jushiro, just calm down" she said gently, while wrapping her arms around the little boy. She could feel the coughs wracking tremors down his body, and held him tighter. Jushiro flung his arms as far as he could around her back and wept loudly, little droplets of blood staining the back of his mother's blouse.


	3. Chapter 3

Jushiro was sick. Very, very sick. So sick, that he had been confined to his room for a month, with the occasional trip to the local hospital. So sick, that his chest rattled at every breath he took. So sick, in fact, that his hair was starting to grow out white.

"I look like…an…an…an old man!" he said to himself crossly, tugging at a thick strand. He gave a small cough and immediately let his hand flop back down onto his lap; every cough made his breathing halt for a second, made the flame in his lungs rise up and bite again. So, he returned to stay sitting in silence, his hands folded in his lap and clutched around a bloody handkerchief. His eyes wandered restlessly around the room, hoping for something exciting to come into his vision. But nothing came. For he had seen all, heard all, smelt all and felt all in his room.

"Jushiro, honey, I'm coming in" said a kind voice outside. Jushiro straightened up and placed a big smile on his face, hoping that his depressed and bored feelings weren't going to show. However, his mother saw through the mask (unfortunately).

"Jyuu, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly. Her son snickered. She smiled. "Well, apart from the obvious bad health. You look troubled"

"Don't worry, I'm fine" replied Jushiro, with the grin still plastered across his face. Still, his mother didn't look convinced. "I'm fine, seriously"

"Tell me, Jyuu"

The pale boy sighed in irritation. 'Now that I'm officially a proper teenager, I shouldn't be babied!' he thought angrily.

His mother looked at her son's slowly creasing face and decided to drop the subject. "Okay, if you say so" she said serenely, as if she didn't see the resentment in the boy's eyes. She glanced down at the bag in her hands, smiled, and reached into it. A plain white t-shirt was pulled out of the carrier bag and shoved into Jushiro's hands. "I bought you a new shirt, since you old one got ruined!"

Jushiro shuddered; he all to well remembered the amount of blood he coughed up the day he lost his old white t-shirt to the crimson liquid. Still, he smiled and folded it up delicately, murmuring a grateful "Thank you, mum"

"No problem, Jyuu"

And with that, she calmly walked out of the room.

"Thank you…" repeated Jushiro quietly as the door shut.


	4. Chapter 4

"Raimu-chan, get off me!" scolded Jushiro, as he attempted to untangle his sister's arms from around his waist. Raimu just squealed more and clung tighter.

"She's just glad that you're out of bed, onii-chan" said Miharu, one of Jushiro's younger brothers. He smirked. "Though considering you've just gotten better, I don't think this is a good way to keep you well"

"Here that, Raimu?" said Jushiro, looking down on his little sister. She blinked. "I'm going to get ill again if you keep hanging onto me".

Raimu's eyes widened and she immediately let go, tears springing in her eyes.

"Sorry, onii-chan! Sorry! Sorry!" she repeatedly tearfully, obviously very worried that she'd hurt her big brother. Jushiro smiled at her and ruffled her black curls. "Turn that frown upside down"

Raimu giggled and took her brother's hand. "Okay, onii-chan!" she sang, as she swung their enclosed hands back and forth. She pulled him forward, urging him to "Skip with me, onii-chan!"

Jushiro laughed and picked her up instead, ignoring her persistent cries of "SKIP! SKIP! SKIP!"

"Let's go outside. It looks like you have too much energy" said Jushiro, his eyes twinkling. He turned to his brother. "You coming?"

Miharu nodded and obediently followed his older brother, grinning. Jushiro led the three of them out into the garden, where his mother was hanging out the washing, his father was reading a book, and four more of his younger brothers and his other younger sister were playing tag. His mother looked up and smiled at her three children that were walking down the path in the middle of the flowerbeds. "Hey" she said welcomingly, before turning back to pinning up the clothes on the washing line.

"Are you feeling better, Jushiro?" asked his father, a concerned expression etched across his face. Jushiro beamed and nodded, saying "Yup, thanks. It's good that you're visiting us, father"

His father nodded, smiled and returned to his book, murmuring "You do know I'll have to go back to Seireitei tomorrow, right?"

Jushiro nodded happily, for he didn't mind. He knew his dad had to train hard to work up the ranks. And Jushiro was proud of him. Granted, he himself didn't really want to become a Shinigami; it was too dangerous and scary. Plus, with his illness, it didn't seem like a good option. But still, he was glad that his father was working hard and getting stronger. "Yup! What seat are you now, by the way?"

"13th. But I might be being promoted soon" replied his father, smiling slightly. Jushiro beamed and said cheerily "That's good! And weird. I mean, you're in the 13th Division and the 13th Seat. Weird huh?"

His father chuckled. "Yes. Very weird, Jushiro"

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**Hey! :D I don't usually put notes on my stories, but I just thought I'd ought to say thank you SinsOfMidnight for the first review, as well as verunder for the second review! XD & thank you to all the people that favourited this story ^^**

**& just a couple more things, while we're on the subject of L.I.L.A.B (;D Shortened version of title), I hope I've made Jushiro's age clear in all of these & I know in the first chapter, his age didn't really come across, but I made him out to be 7 (even though 7 year olds shouldn't really be out in poverty stricken streets, but y'know, Uki-chan comes from a low-class noble family, so whatever. X3. **

**& this is why I don't put notes! I always make them into essays :P Okay, thank you for reading ^^ Bye!**

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	5. Chapter 5

"Your father isn't coming back"

"You're the man of the family now"

"He was a great hero, your father"

Oh, how many times Jushiro had been told about his father's death. And many times he had been told he was the head of the Ukitake clan now. How many, many times he had been told his father had died in action, defending his comrades and sacrificing himself for them.

And yet, it still didn't register with Jushiro.

He lay now on his bed, staring upwards and making pictures out of the patterns on the ceiling, and thinking. No, pondering. Contemplating whether he should accept what had happened and move on. Only, he knew it was impossible. He knew it would be impossible to not imagine his father sitting at the breakfast table, reading his newspaper, or out in the garden, practicing his swordplay, or at the front door, with gifts for everyone from Seireitei.

Seireitei.

Jushiro shuddered; he never wanted to think about that place that bought his father's death. Never ever. Yet, sometimes, he couldn't help but think whether his dad would have wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, to continue the tradition of at least one Shinigami in every generation of the Ukitake family…

He shook his head quickly and tried to shove the thought out of his head, for it disgusted him. Of course he would never join the Gotei 13. Why would he want to join that murderous, bloodthirsty group of barbarians? It sent chills down his spine just thinking about it.

'But maybe,' he thought, closing his eyes, 'maybe I could bring peace to the 13 Court Guard Companies. Maybe I could change everything. Save everyone. I could protect everyone, the way my father did…'

Hands clenched determinedly, he slowly opened his eyes and sat up.

He had made his decision.


	6. Chapter 6

His mother hadn't understood at first. Jushiro had repeated his reasons why he wanted to become a Soul Reaper, and, when his mother had stayed silent, he even went as far as to sending her on a guilt trip.

"It's what father would have wanted!" Jushiro argued fervently. His mother shook her head and closed her eyes.

"But is it what you want?" she pressed. Her son blinked. "Are you doing it because you feel obliged to, or are you doing it because you want to?"

Jushiro furrowed his eyebrows. "I want to."

"Really?"

"Yes, of course!" Jushiro sighed and took a deep breath to calm himself. "I want to continue in dad's footsteps. I want to try to bring peace to the Soul Society." He paused. "But I'm not sure whether..."

"Whether...?" his mother repeated gently, her chocolate eyes scanning her son's face worriedly.

Jushiro looked down and swallowed once. "Whether they would let me in with my...condition."

His mother gave a soft sigh, took a step closer to her son, and placed her hands of his shoulders comfortingly. "They will. I don't see why not. Yes, it may affect your physical attribrutes, but it won't affect your skills. You are a brave, intelligent, generous young man. Your illness may rot your lungs, but your soul will always be intact and pure. They'd be silly to refuse you."

Jushiro looked up, his eyes wide.

"Does that mean I can go?" he asked, disbelievingly. His mother smiled.

"Did I ever say you couldn't?" she replied, a smile gracing her lips. Jushiro's face lit up with excitement and happiness, and he rushed forwards, and hugged his mother so tightly it took the breath out of her. Nonetheless, she laughed, her voice ringing like wedding bells, and she took her son in her arms and prayed. Not to any god in particular, for why would a god exist in a world where gods, namely Death Gods, walk amongst us?

No; she merely prayed to a Higher Power, to give herself, and her son, faith.

_Please, give Jushiro the power to move the world how he sees fit, and give him the strength to get through this task. _

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**Hey again! ^o^ I just want to say thank you to KimikoRinSohmaHyuuga and fox2210 for the 3rd & 4th reviews. Thank you!!! :D  
****& sorry for the long update; my laptop completely died on me last month, so I've been computerless for ages. But I got a new one for Christmas (WAYHAY!), so my stories should be speeding up now (: **


	7. Chapter 7

The dusty road ahead lay empty and desolate, with few houses dotted about the land. Jushiro sighed tiredly, but nonetheless hoisted his pack higher onto his back, and stepped out of his house determinedly.

Although they lived in the Seireitei, due to being nobles, the Ukitake family wasn't that high ranked, and so lived on the outside of the Shinigami residence. Therefore, Jushiro had a long way to go to get to the Academy, which was situated in the middle of the Seireitei.

The Seireitei. Unlike before, he smiled at the prospect of being part of the Shinigamis. He was happy that he was following his father's footsteps, however wrong his siblings thought it was. Miharu had even stated harshly "You're dishonouring father's name by joining the...the...the barbarians that murdered him!"

"But the Shinigami didn't kill dad; he risked his life to save his friends from the big Hollow," said Jushiro quietly. Miharu had taken a step backwards, knowing that his brother's worst anger was as quiet as a leopard stalking its prey, but had narrowed his eyes accusingly and turned his back on his white-haired sibling. Jushiro had felt disheartened and betrayed by the fact that he knew his brother would never forgive him, would always hold a grudge. But he had recalled his ambition, and, like a dog not wanting to give up his favourite toy, swallowed his anger and looked determinedly forwards.

Jushiro now paused. A small, proud grin appeared on his face as he remembered telling his mother about what he would do at the Shinou Academy, what he thought Captain Yamamoto would be like, that he would train lots and try his hardest to complete his schooling, and how he would definitely be a proper Shinigami eventually. He let out a small, fond laugh as he remembered his mother nodding and smiling, and, in between the breaks that Jushiro had to make to catch his breath after talking so much, encouraging him and giving gentle warnings to her beloved son.

The white-haired boy, no; man, took a deep breath, looked backwards and grinned at his 7 waving siblings and his smiling mother, before setting off on his 5 day journey towards his goal, the Shinou Academy.

"I can do this."


	8. Chapter 8

The Rukongai was simply a mass of poverty; orphans roamed the street, while desperate adults made futile attempts to make a living out of various stalls and such. The roads were dusty and, if you went above District 80, streamed with blood. Plantation was scarce, as was water and food. As boiling in the summer as it was freezing in the winter, the citizens of Rukongai struggled against life like a constant tug-of-war.

As Jushiro grew ever closer towards the Shinou Academy, he simply couldn't imagine a place like Rukongai actually existed, for the area he walked in now emitted so much grace, splendour and wealth. In the inner suburbs of the Seireitei, everything gleamed greatly and shined spectacularly. The path on which the white-haired boy walked was clean, stable and undamaged. People that brushed past Jushiro wore the most beautiful clothes he had ever seen. The people themselves produced radiance as beautiful as the sunset that ended Jushiro's second day into travelling towards his goal.

Slick with sweat, eyes gleaming excitedly, Jushiro set up camp next to a small river and took in a deep, satisfied breath and watched the sun set.

* * *

**Hey! :)**

**Sorry, this is just a small filler, 'cos I can't think of anything decent to happen to Jyuu on his first travelling day. :(  
But I have an idea for the next chapter (which hopefully ought to be a little longer! Yes! Longer than the chapters so far anyway :L).**

**Thank you to my 5th, 6th and 7th reviewers: ArizonaBay, KimikoRinSohmaHyuuga (again! Thanks! :3) and Mondaysnoon13! :)  
Reviews want me to write more! Seriously ^^  
They're like cookies. :3**

**Oh, btw, is it just me, or does everyone who sees a big red button that says DO NOT PRESS want to press it?  
Just a thought.**

**Byeee!! xx**


	9. Chapter 9

Sunlight streamed into the musty room, illuminating the thousands upon thousands of dust particles in straight lines of light. A light breeze ruffled the grey, stained curtains as they hung awkwardly lopsided.

This room was the freckle on the otherwise perfect nose of the Seireitei, thought Jushiro sadly. Although it had been the only room free, it had been his last choice. The inn in which he was staying reminded him of the shacks back in Rukongai. But at least in those run down huts there had been a comfy, lived-in feel about them, whereas this room felt about as welcoming as a bed of nails.

Jushiro coughed a few times, to clear the dust from his irritated throat, and thought back to the previous day, where he had been offered a place to stay, rather than camping outside. The shopkeeper whose inn he was staying in had been sympathetic, for Jushiro had travelled a long way; he was getting close to the higher class nobles of Seireitei. So when Ukitake had walked into the shopkeeper's inn, looking desperately bedraggled, the man heard of his journey toward the Shinou Academy, took pity on the boy and lent a room out to him. Smiling gratefully, Jushiro took what was offered and promised to pay the man back someday, even though the shopkeeper insisted that nothing needed to be paid.

Now grinning at his good luck, Jushiro stretched and hopped out of bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He wanted to explore the town a bit, so he had decided to get up early so as to have a quick look and then get back on schedule on time. Which, in a way, was convenient, as Jushiro had a tendency to oversleep for the next few days if he had one lie-in; he'd swear his internal clock was messed up to anyone who would listen.

The streets were crowded, even at 6:00am. But not with ruffians like the ones you'd see in Rukongai, no – these people were dressed in fancy clothes, walking with fancy strides and talking in fancy accents. In fact, and Jushiro gulped nervously, he even thought he saw a person wearing a _kenseiken_!

The only person that he saw run amok was a tall, brunette teenage boy with a small goatee. Jushiro had seen him leaning against a wall, chatting amiably to three beautiful girls and flirting hard. Jushiro had also seen him be forcibly dragged away by what seemed to be his father, declaring that his "...son should stop acting like an idiot and act like he was in the noble Kyoraku family!"

Jushiro chuckled, but stopped abruptly as both father and son turned and glared daggers at him. He was just about to open his mouth to say sorry when a hand clapped him on the shoulder, making him jump horribly. He heard the father behind him cackle unpleasantly as Jushiro looked up into cold, staring eyes.

"Now what is a low-class noble doing here, then?"

The hand on his shoulder gripped tighter. The woman tossed her blonde hair back and smiled, leaning in closer and closer, until Jushiro could smell her breath.

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm merely passing through to go somewhe-"

"And where might that be?"

Jushiro gulped. "The Shinou Academy, ma'am."

The woman let out a great, big, horse laugh. "Now look here, how would you get in? I hear the old man's taking only strong students, which means high-class nobles. " She leaned even closer, so that their noses were touching. "You should just go home, little boy."

And with that, she pinched Jushiro's cheek, straightened up and smiled (only it looked more like a grimace). She cocked her head to one side, opened her mouth to say something, when...

"Oi, mind what you're saying! That kid's probably got ten times the amount of guts you have, bitch!" shouted the Kyoraku kid that Jushiro had seen earlier. The woman scowled at him, but said nothing and flounced away.

"You alright, mate?" asked the boy. He took one look at Jushiro's shaken expression and laughed. "You look like you've seen a ghost! Well, anyway, see ya' at the Academy – I'm going too. My dear father is forcing me to go. I'd much rather be getting on wit' the ladies though, if you get my gist." He gave a saucy wink and raced off, leaving Jushiro quite stunned.


	10. Chapter 10

"14th son, eh? I'm betting you have 13 brothers and your dad just gave up with creativity!" said the guard at the entrance of the Academy when Juushirou gave him his name.

Juushirou merely scowled as the guard snorted at his own little joke. He kicked at the ground and watched as millions of dust particles flew up into the air, immersed in his own world and thinking why this guy was still even talking to him. Then again, lots of people, sometimes even strangers, would come up to come and just start talking to him about their problems. When he asked why once, the person gave him a smile and said that he had a kindly, trustworthy face. Some other guy had just replied that Juushirou just looks like he can't say no to people.

"-will be in about an hour and – hey, kid! Are you even listening?"

Ukitake looked up. "Hm? Wha- oh, yes. I am."

The guard narrowed his eyes, but ploughed on valiantly. "As I was saying, I'll be able t' get off soon, 'cause the medical exam will be in about an hour, and – "

"WHAT?" The guard jumped. He looked at the boy, who had taken on an expression like that of a caged animal.

"I never heard anything about a medical exam," stuttered Juushirou. He quickly ran through the letter from the Academy that he had memorized. There had definitely been nothing on there about this.

The guard scratched his nose. "You wouldn't have. They've only jus' declared there would be one. Apparently, it's something like this kid came in beforehand, totally obese y'know, and, well...let's just say nothing good an' healthy happened to him when he tried the exam."

Juushirou breathed out in relief; if it were only about the correct BMI, then he should be able to pass (even if he is only a little underweight). The thing that worried him though was the stamina part, which the boy before had obviously had trouble with. With the disease preventing his lungs from working too hard, Juushirou had to be careful about how long he should train for.

'Then again, this might prove helpful, as I can't really tell the Hollows to lay off me after a while. It can give me a real idea of how long I can fight for, if we're asked to run or something,' he thought suddenly. 'As long as I play my cards right, this'll be a piece of cake.'

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**Sorry about the delay in updating. I was doing my GCSE's and some other stuff, so I couldn't concentrate on this. **

**However, I have my results now, so, although I also now have a job, I should be working on this a lot faster! ^^**

**Sorry this chapter's so boring D: I couldn't think of anything interesting to happen to Jyuu. And anyway, this is just glimpses of his life, right? I mean, if you want something amazing to read that's about Jyuu's Academy life, go read the Meifu series (I cant remember who its by XD). Its amazing!  
Plus, I'm thinking this up as I go along. I get an idea, put down a sentance and then construct the rest of the chapter from there. XD So that's why it's a bit random. **

**Also, thank you to my 8th reviewer, Rebel2020, and everyone else following this story.  
But I'm getting a lot of alerts from people, but not reviews! Don't be shy! D: It makes me feel better and want to write more :D**

**Sorry for babbling again! ^v^' Later! **


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